When streaks of sun pried through my eyelids the next morning I fling my arm out to hit my pain-in-the-neck alarm clock on instinct, and instead I slap a cold rock. I just can’t seem to get used to this crazy reality. I’m not in my bed, and I don’t know how long it’ll be until I will be.

I’m actually in Hyrule; with Link and Midna. This is officially insane—as though it wasn’t already to begin with.

I get up like a zombie and groan. Looking to my right, I see Link is poking the ashes of a fire he must have started last night. He sits on a log he pulled out of the woods beside us and Midna sits on another log parallel to Link’s. I stretch my back like a cat and peel the sheet off me, straightening my hoodie as I walk to the remains of the fire. Midna sees me, waves and smiles, and I wave back.

“Good morning,” I try to say politely. It’s really the least I can do; they saved me after all.

“Morning. Sleep well?” Link asks casually, still poking the fire.

“Mm hm.”

“That’s good. Today we won’t be doing much, maybe just restocking on food,” he tells me.

If he says we, does he mean fetching food for himself and Midna? Or himself, Midna, and I? I really hope it’s the latter.

So, despite how selfish I may sound, I mutter, “Hey, um...”

Link looks up from the fire at me with his cerulean eyes. I almost choke on my own words.

“Do you guys think that maybe I could stay with you for a while? Just because I’ve got nowhere else to go,” I tack onto the end. I don’t know about you, but if I was trekking across the globe and someone asked if they could join my escapade, I’d decline. It’s just another mouth to feed, right?

“Of course. I didn’t expect you to leave,” he says.

I smile. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem.”

We sit and watch the dying coals as they turn from an orange to a deep red, before fading to black and leeching to white ash that is carried away by the wind. Midna gets bored after we sit in silence for a few minutes, and something catches her eye. She flies off the log before trying to catch some beetle that does a flying hop whenever she gets in its range. After majority of the fiery remains have turned from a golden yellow to a red, I grab a twig off of the log that Link and I are perched on. I start to doodle aimlessly with it in the dry dirt under our feet.

When I was back in my world, I drew all the time. I know I’ve alluded to it earlier, but I have a feeling you’ve forgotten. Anyways, my friends say that I’m amazing, and that I should make graphic novels when I’m older. I understood basic body proportions at the age of nine, and could draw a realistic portrait with hard and soft lead pencils at the age of twelve. People say it’s a gift, but it had just come naturally. Even people three times my age pay me for things I’ve drawn, and sometimes placed orders. Many people would post my pictures on Facebook as soon as they received a sketch, and it would get a ton of likes and comments in minutes. It made me feel slightly embarrassed, but I knew it was out of good intentions. Drawing was my only source of self-worth. I wasn’t super athletic, I never thought of myself as being pretty like the other girls, no guys ever asked me out, and my grades are what kept me going—that and all my friends.

“Whatcha drawing there?” Link leans next to me, gazing at what I drew in the dirt.

I wasn’t even paying attention. Looking down at my own creation, I see that I have drawn a fairly detailed sketch of...Link. I immediately bend over so fast that it must have looked like I was pushed and scribble out every last line.

“Hey, I liked that drawing. It was good,” Link states with a disappointed tone.

I smirk a little, and try not to pass out from embarrassment.

“Hey, I know...” Link starts, and gets up. Walking over to Midna, he interrupts her bug chase. She nods and materializes something out of thin air in a burst of black and blue for him, just like in the game. When he walks back, he gives me a warm smile.

“What’s that you’re holding?” I ask.

He pulls out what he retrieved, and in his left hand is some parchment and in the right there is a feather pen and a bottle of ink. Putting his hands out, palms down, he motions for me to hold out mine. He drops the paper, plume, and ink into my hands.

Before I ask him what all of them are for, he says, “Here. I’m going hunting for a bit, and it looks like drawing interests you. The last thing I need is you wandering off while you’re bored. But...” He bends down and whispers, “Make sure Midna doesn’t get cranky. She gets bored fast.”

“I heard that!” Midna yells from a distance, over where her exotic bug chase took her.

Link and I muffle laughs, and he turns to get his bow and arrows, lying next to where he used to sit.

“Alright, I’ll be back soon with some food.”

He waves, and as his sandy hair disappears into the brush, I wave back. When he can’t be seen, I sit back down and look at the parchment. Well, I guess it’ll keep me occupied.

So after who knows how many hours, I’m surrounded by papers by my feet that are all etched with pitch ink. The wind tousles my short brown hair, but I remain unfazed. My hand furiously waves, scribbles, shades, and swivels to create my next masterpiece. The ink splashes my fingers as I plop the feather into the jar, and set down my newest work.

I wipe my forehead with my sleeve, and look at what surrounds me. I’ve drawn Midna in her true form, her on Wolf Link’s back, Epona, Link riding Epona, and Zelda with her long sword at her side. Also, a portrait of small Midna, with her Twilit magic and orange lightning crackling around her body, armed in a defensive position; with her one eye narrowed in determination. And lastly the one I have just finished: Link.

I gently pick up the feather again, and use it to increase the depth of Link’s eyes. Once I’ve done that, I gently smudge the drying ink on his jawline to give it dimension. Just as my art teacher always said, “Try to incorporate your darkest darks and your lightest lights.” I smile a bit as I stare into his eyes, and let my thumb glide off the paper.

“Wow, you really need to get it perfect, don’t you?”

I jump up from where I was sitting, and see Midna giving me a smirk. “These are incredible! They’re so detailed! And you even know about Epona and Princess Zelda!” She picks up the one with the silhouette of Link riding Epona in the sunset. Her small hands grasp another small sketch, and her breath catches in her throat. It’s the picture of her true form, sitting in her throne of the Twilit, with the Sol in her lap.

I perk up, to see what she says. Her eyes almost look they’re about to water, and she clutches it to her chest.

“It’s...perfect...” she whispers. Then her small head looks up at me. “How did you know?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I’ve seen many people, because I’ve played the game,” I remind her. Midna lets her grip on it loosen, and she looks down with something I haven’t seen before on her: longing.

“Even so, it’s perfect.”

“I just...draw stuff. It’s normal for me. You can keep that, if you want,” I offer. She lightens up a little, her visible eye twinkling. It flashes away in a spray of black twilight, to her special little holding realm. But then she gets a mischievous glint, and turns to the portrait of Link that I hold.

“So what’s that about?” Midna points to it.

“What?” I ask innocently.

“I saw how much you concentrated when you worked on his eyes.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She laughs. “You get a really funny look when you focus, but then your look changed and relaxed when you worked on his eyes.”

“You,” I try to think of a comeback, “have no proof.” Wow, if that didn’t scream ‘best comeback ever’, I don’t know what does.

“Oh, don’t I?” She gives a suggestive glance to the portrait, and I frown and turn away, pulling it into my chest.

I stare at her, waiting for her to judge me, but she sighs. Her turquoise hands rest on her hips and she shakes her head slightly. “I still think it’s good, though,” she says, and her dark back turns and she resumes drawing her stick figures in the dirt with her small fingers.

Right then, I hear a faint crunching of leaves. I turn to look over my shoulder, and squint to see a sandy head slowly come up over the slope that leads down into the forest. Link walks toward us with a deer on his back. I run across the field and halfway down the slope to him, and lift the limp hind legs from his body. “Need a hand?”

He smiles, and I pull it off his back. It was a good young buck, probably weighing a little more than myself; and was more than enough to feed three people. After I pulled it completely off of him, he just gave up trying to help and smiled. I continued to jog up the hill and across the field, ignoring the faint burning in my left shoulder. When I arrive to the remaining ashes of the fire—which Midna was piling more wood on—he asks, “What are you doing?”

“Putting it by the fire?” I say, more of a question than an answer.

“We have to gut it, skin it, and then take the muscle off the carcass,” he informs me.

“Um, you can knock yourself out,” I offer, and step away from the deer.

He chuckles, and the sound of his laugh brightens my mood slightly. Link sits down and whips out a small dagger, and launches it into the animal’s stomach and slits it open with a clean cut. I flinch.

“Ew! Don’t do it right in front of me! At least tell me when you’re doing it so I can look away!” I freak out, and cover my eyes.

“I’m doing it,” Link replies, not taking his sight from the buck. I glare at him.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

He chuckles again, and pulls the knife out. Once he threw away the innards and all insignificant parts, Midna stored the remaining meat and I loaded the ribs onto a large metal pan Midna gave me to roast it over the fire. My stomach gives a low growl, almost as famished as the blaze. Every now and then, some blood drips down and sizzles on the burning bark. The smoke rises into the sunset lazily, which is so similar yet different from last night. Has yet another day already passed?

Finally, Link dishes out our portions. Midna gets two ribs because she doesn’t eat much, Link takes several, and I have five. I try not to be a pig and eat as primly as possible, but that’s nearly impossible when you’re as hungry as I am. Link digs in, somehow not getting any on his face, and Midna eats hers without much mess. I suck up all my self-consciousness and let my confidence take control as I rip the well-done meat off the bone.

The meat is delicious, though. It has that natural smoked flavor, my favourite way of doing meat without sauce. It reminds me of when I was little and my family and I would go camping, and we would all sit by the fire as the sun began to fade. Our steaks would roast over the fire, and this smoked meat tastes exactly like my dad’s—

My dad. My mom. My sister. How will I get back to them?

The rib falls from my hand onto the light green grass, and my heart starts racing. This whole time, I’ve never once given a thought to how I’ll get home. My hands begin to shake, and I place them on my cheeks. What do I do?

Link and Midna both stop eating and stare at me. “Neri, are you okay?” Link puts down his meat, and looks up at me.

“C’mon, the meat isn’t that bad,” Midna tries to lighten the mood. I would laugh, but now isn’t the time.

“That’s not it...” I whisper, and my hands cover my mouth. My vision starts to get cloudy. Toughen up, Neri; grow a backbone. Now is not the time to cry. The moment I do that is the moment I forfeit all respectability.

“What’s wrong?” Link comes to my side.

“M-my parents—my family... How will I get back to them?” I look at him, half expecting an answer, although I know he doesn’t have one. “What if I never see them again?”

At that moment, something strange happens. The ground surrounding us glows gold and Link and Midna shield their eyes. Midna instinctively hovers away, glaring through her fingers at the glowing ground. Link just takes a few cautious steps back, looking at me worriedly, just urging me to move. I stay seated, blinking away withheld tears. The gold light takes form, becoming...the Triforce. I am sitting in the unlit hollow center. The large Triforce around my body glows brighter and I’m forced to cover my eyes. When I open them after the light dims slightly, I am utterly speechless.

Surrounding me are three women, each one hovering above their piece of the Triforce while I sit on my piece of the Triforce: the middle.

The one north of me smiles, her fiery hair bound above her head, lighting up the dark. Her deep purple eyes reflect strength. She has a deep tan, and a very beautiful figure. A light red peplos hangs loosely on her shoulders. ”Greetings, Lively One,” she welcomes me. “I am Din; Goddess of Power. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

It is at that point that my brain completely stops functioning.

I then turn to my left slightly. Another woman with an ivory complexion hovers over the other piece, with long and slightly wavy blue hair that reaches all the way to her knees. Her expression and shadow of a smile show wisdom. A faded blue chlamys is loosely draped over her body. “Good evening, Lively One,” she acknowledges me also. “I am Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom. But you recognized me, did you not?” Her smile brightens the night. Finally I whip around past Nayru and Din to another woman.

Her green hair curls into ringlets and is worn up in two loose buns. Her posture radiates bravery and courage. A pale green chiton is drawn across her frame. “I bid you a good night, Lively One,” she starts, “you surely know that I am Farore, Goddess of Courage.”

“Why are you calling me ‘Lively One’?” I ask them.

They look back and forth, and Nayru speaks up first. “You do not know?”

I quirk my brow. “Am I supposed to?”

They give each other nervous glances, before Farore stapes forward. “You are blessed with the gift of the Forgotten Goddess.”

Forgotten Goddess? Since when?

Din continues. “You have her piece that has not been entrusted to anyone yet, excluding yourself.”

“Your piece is very valued,” Farore predictably carries on. “It is a power enough to revere our own.” She stops there.

All at once, the Goddesses declare in sentimental unison, “Your piece is the Triforce of Essence; the Triforce of life itself.”

After they affirm just what my Triforce is, a silence follows for a few moments. I stand there, dumbfounded, and I can barely bring myself to think of what Link and Midna are thinking now.

“W-why do I have it? I’m not even from here!” I argue.

“Because—she chose you of her own will to help you get back,” Farore informs me.

The Forgotten Goddess wanted to help me?

“But to get back you have to carry out a task of her desire,” Din leads off. “You must defeat the Demise, who has gone into a state of unrest, by yourself and save the land of Hyrule. He who has defied all seven sins and wants nothing more than for his habits to spread to the holy citizens of Hyrule.”

Is he really that bad? Envious, lustful, gluttonous, greedy, prideful, wrathful, and slothful? I can imagine, but then again, I’ve never known him personally.

“You will need the aid of others during your quest. A hero, a princess of light, a princess of darkness, and another who will be coming soon, that will aid you greatly,” Nayru finishes.

Another person is coming to help us? Wait, two princesses? If Midna is one, then my only guess is that Zelda is the other. Link is obviously the hero, but who is the ‘other coming soon’?

“You must request an audience with Zelda once you have met the remaining member, and until then, farewell, Lively One!” they advocate in unison.

Their eyes close, peaceful expressions lasting on their faces as their bodies fade into white glittering light. The Triforce underfoot dissipates, the light fading as the last of their ethereal appearances dissolve into thin air. Both Link and Midna step forward, looking around like they expect the Goddesses to come back.

Link comes up to me, and says, “That’s only the second time I have ever seen the Goddesses.”

Am I imagining it, or does Link look somewhat...shaken? “When was the first?”

He licks his lips. “The day before I found you. They said to kill ‘he who has defied all seven sins and wants nothing more than for his habits to spread to the holy citizens of Hyrule’. They said that first we would have to find two more. I guess you were one of them.”

Alright, I think maybe we should end this day already—enough info for one day. I need awhile to myself to let this startling truth sink in. So far, it’s barely grazed the surface of my skin. “Hey, shouldn’t we go to sleep so we have the energy to find the remaining person?” I try to convince them.

Midna nods, and plops down right where she is: on my blanket. Well technically Link’s blanket, but still.

“I’ll take watch,” Link replies. I put my arm out in front of him.

“Oh, no you don’t. I slept two days away, and you were awake the whole time. I’m taking watch,” I state firmly, and hold my position.

“Neri—”

“Don’t ‘Neri’ me. Go to sleep, mister!”

He looks disapproving but lays down anyways; never taking his eyes off me as he sinks to his knees, pulling the blanket off the thick sheet, then tucking himself in. After making sure that I’m satisfied, he rolls over and I walk over to the fire.

“Good night,” Link whispers, and rolls next to Midna.

Crap—what have I done? Now I’ll be sitting here twiddling my thumbs the whole night. Dammit, I’m too nice of a person. I stalk to the fire, grabbing some stubby branches that aren’t too green from the outskirts of the forest before anything can grab me. The wolf pack from two days ago comes to mind, and I shiver to shake the feeling off me. When I’ve filled my arms I walk back to the fire and drop them on one at a time as to not stir up too many ashes and then plop down on the log with a huff, grabbing a stick to poke at the fire. Right as I feel imminent boredom threatening to settle in, I remember something.

I still have my iPod.

I wrestle it out of my dark jeans, and put the headphones in hastily. I randomly click shuffle, and Endless Love by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross plays softly. I’ve always thought that they sounded beautiful together, and it was one of the few pop songs I didn’t loathe. Soon, I’m singing under my breath.

“My love, there's only you in my life, the only thing that's bright...” I continue to hum lightly and sing quietly as I roll a long blade of grass between my fingers. “My first love, you're every breath that I take—every move that I make... And I—want to share all my love with you. No one else will do...”

“You’re really good.”

I bolt straight up and flinch to look behind me at Link, who is looking down at me with a hint of a smile. The dim light of the fire highlights his cheeks and nose and makes the heat rise to my cheeks. I try not to let my flaming cheeks get the best of me. Hopefully the dim light of the moon will prevent him from seeing it, even though I seriously doubt it.

“Do you sing all the time?”

“I-I used to when I was little. I was in a choir for a few years, and the teacher always gave me solos even though I had stage fright.”

He chuckles. “Is that music from your world?”

“Yes, back where I’m from, I’m known as one of the music freaks even though I don’t know why. I mainly listen to rock, alternative, and punk,” I tell him.

“The lyrics are nice.”

I still feel too ashamed to meet his gaze, so I prod awkwardly, “Couldn’t fall asleep?”

He hesitates for a moment to answer, but mutters, “Something like that.”

I gaze a little past him, and see Midna snoozing and curled up on the blanket fifteen feet away. She looks like a tuckered-out two-year-old during nap time.

“What are you looking at?” Link questions, and glimpses back.

“She’s kind of cute,” I sigh.

“Don’t let her hear you say that.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll probably wake up missing a few fingers.”

I mock gasp. “She wouldn’t!”

“Oh, she will alright.”

Both of us fall silent, and I’m pretty sure that after several minutes of silence, Link will have walked back to bed and have fallen asleep.

“What else do you like in your world?”

I get a little startled at his question, seeing that I thought he was asleep and fifteen feet away. “I like movies. I’ve seen tons.”

“I think you told us about those a little. They’re something else on a TV, right?”

I sigh a little. How I miss thrillers and any other good rides that take you into the setting.

“My favourite are thrillers,” I tell Link. “Most films by Steven Spielberg or ones based off books by Stephen King. Sometimes Disney movies, because they have some pretty good fairy tales, and sad stories too in all honesty.”

I feel a ghost of his hand on my shoulder. “What’s your favourite?”

I shrug. “The Lion King, I guess. It was my first.”

“You’ll have to tell us sometime, then,” he murmurs.

He claps a hand on my shoulder as a farewell, and sluggishly walks back to the blanket. I hear his body thud against the ground, and a grunt as he pulls the blanket over his and Midna’s bodies, then the rustling as he finds the correct position.

I smile a bit, but ask myself, why did he really come over here?